The number of people who are over 100 years old is expected to reach 6 million by the year 2050. Geneticists and health analysts have tried to determine why some people live into their hundreds, but with limited success. While there are some scattered similarities, there is nothing definitive, except . . .
stress.
People who live to be over 100 years old can resiliently handle stress. Simply put, they do their best and don’t sweat the rest.
Personally, I drove myself to do better and sweated what I couldn’t manage for years, and I have the premature gray hair to prove it.
You name it, I stressed over it. Well, except dirt. I never minded a little good ol’ fashioned dirt. And children—I’d take a dozen of those.
As an example, I stressed for years over feeding my family a healthy diet. Considering all the modern definitions of “a healthy diet,” simply figuring out what we should and should not eat was a challenge in itself. Everyone had something to say on the topic, some utterly confounding. I mean, come on! Children aren’t supposed to eat playdough? I grew increasingly overwhelmed.
The final straw came when I was informed that the sea salt I was feeding my family was not good enough sea salt. Apparently there’s the good sea salt, and the good, but not good enough sea salt. I was destroying my family with an inferior level of goodness. I realized then and there that it was impossible to listen to all the health gurus and still remain healthy. The stress of getting healthy was killing me.
Is the stress of getting healthy killing you?
Several years ago I watched as a twenty-something mother, who was struggling financially, donated all her like-new plastic household goods and toys to our church garage sale. Why? She had just read that plastic may cause cancer. I wonder if she stripped her car of all its plastic before strapping her children in their metal car seats and driving home.
Getting healthy was killing her…and bankrupting her.
If getting healthy is killing you, follow my centenarian philosophy.
Do your best and don’t sweat the rest.
That doesn’t mean you should live on Doritos and cookies. give up exercise, and smoke a pack a day. Use your brain. Be responsible! It does mean that on the special occasion when you do indulge in a nachos supreme, enjoy it, savor it, eat it with a smile, a laugh even!
It will add years to your life.
If you’re hip to the groove of The Simple Homemaker’s stress-less (but responsible) life philosophy, stay tuned for future posts where I show practical steps for applying this simple life philosophy to every aspect of your life—family, health, housekeeping, homeschooling, you name it—the fun just keeps on going! For more simple, practical living tips, you can sign up for the newsletter below, like The Simple Homemaker on Facebook, and follow @TheSimpleHome on Twitter.
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